Well, it’s G1 Climax season once again. This year will be the longest G1 in history with 19 shows starting July 20 and ending August 16. This year’s G1 is going to be a long 28 days but, a very entertaining 28 days.

Editor's Note: Check out Eddie Mac's "for Dummies" guide to the 25th annual G1 Climax tourney, with a newcomer's take on each of the event and each of the competitors here. ConfusedSoul also offered some tips for surving the marathon affair here.

Cageside will have a results and open thread post for each of the dates listed in the schedule below.

If you're interested in getting in on the madness, NJPW World's sign-in page is here. They've recently added a Google translate function to the site at the bottom of each page. It looks like this:

We now return you to your regularly scheduled ConfusedSoul New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) G1 Climax 25 Preview...

Format

This year’s tournament is divided into two blocks (A Block and B Block) of 10 wrestlers each. The winner of each block is determined in round-robin (each wrestler wrestles each other once) competition and each match has a 30 minute time limit except the Final which has no time limit. The winner of each round-robin match earns two points, the loser earns zero and in the case of a draw both wrestlers earn one point. The winner of each block will wrestle each other in the Final. The winner of the Final earns a IWGP Heavyweight Title Match at Wrestle Kingdom on January 4th 2016, the caveat being the winner has to defend the opportunity just to make it to Wrestle Kingdom.

The Wrestlers

A Block A.J. Styles Bad Luck Fale Doc Gallows Hiroshi Tanahashi Hiroyoshi Tenzan Katsuyori Shibata Kota Ibushi Tetsuya Naito Togi Makabe Toru Yano		B Block Hirooki Goto Karl Anderson Kazuchika Okada Michael Elgin Satoshi Kojima Shinsuke Nakamura Tomoaki Honma Tomohiro Ishii Yuji Nagata Yujiro Takahashi

Schedule (Matches in BOLD are must see)

Monday, July 20
Hokkaido 3pm (2am ET)

A Block: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Doc Gallows

A Block: Togi Makabe vs. Toru Yano

A Block: Tetsuya Naito vs. Bad Luck Fale

A Block: Katsuyori Shibata vs. A.J. Styles

A Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi

Thursday, July 23
Shizuoka 6:30pm (5:30am ET)

B Block: Satoshi Kojima vs. Tomohiro Ishii

B Block: Hirooki Goto vs. Yujiro Takahashi

B Block: Yuji Nagata vs. Tomoaki Honma

B Block: Kazuchika Okada vs. Michael Elgin

B Block: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Karl Anderson

Friday, July 24
Kyoto 6:30pm (5:30am ET)

A Block: Kota Ibushi vs. Doc Gallows

A Block: Togi Makabe vs. Bad Luck Fale

A Block: Toru Yano vs. A.J. Styles

A Block: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tetsuya Naito

A Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan

Saturday, July 25
Kagawa 6pm (5am ET)

B Block: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Yujiro Takahashi

B Block: Satoshi Kojima vs. Michael Elgin

B Block: Hirooki Goto vs. Karl Anderson

B Block: Yuji Nagata vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

B Block: Tomoaki Honma vs. Kazuchika Okada

Sunday, July 26
Hiroshima 6pm (5am ET)

A Block: Doc Gallows vs. Bad Luck Fale

A Block: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Toru Yano

A Block: Togi Makabe vs. Katsuyoshi Shibata

A Block: Kota Ibushi vs. A.J. Styles

A Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tetsuya Naito

Tuesday, July 28
Oita 6:30pm (5:30am ET)

B Block: Yuji Nagata vs. Yujiro Takahashi

B Block: Hirooki Goto vs. Tomoaki Honma

B Block: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Karl Anderson

B Block: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Michael Elgin

B Block: Satoshi Kojima vs. Kazuchika Okada

Wednesday, July 29
Fukuoka 6:30pm (5:30am ET)

A Block: Toru Yano vs. Doc Gallows

A Block: Togi Makabe vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan

A Block: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Kota Ibushi

A Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Bad Luck Fale

A Block: Tetsuya Naito vs. A.J. Styles

Saturday, August 1
Osaka 5pm (4am ET)

B Block: Satoshi Kojima vs. Yujiro Takahashi

B Block: Yuji Nagata vs. Karl Anderson

B Block: Tomoaki Honma vs. Michael Elgin

B Block: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Tomohiro Ishii

B Block: Hirooki Goto vs. Kazuchika Okada

Sunday, August 2
Aichi 4pm (3am ET)

A Block: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Kota Ibushi

A Block: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Bad Luck Fale

A Block: A.J. Styles vs. Doc Gallows

A Block: Togi Makabe vs. Tetsuya Naito

A Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Toru Yano

Tuesday, August 4
Miyagi 6:30pm (5:30am ET)

B Block: Michael Elgin vs. Yujiro Takahashi

B Block: Satoshi Kojima vs. Tomoaki Honma

B Block: Yuji Nagata vs. Tomohiro Ishii

B Block: Kazuchika Okada vs. Karl Anderson

B Block: Hirooki Goto vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Wednesday, August 5
Iwate 6:30pm (530am ET)

A Block: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Bad Luck Fale

A Block: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Toru Yano

A Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Doc Gallows

A Block: Togi Makabe vs. A.J. Styles

A Block: Tetsuya Naito vs. Kota Ibushi

Friday, August 7
Shizuoka 6:30pm (5:30am ET)

B Block: Yuji Nagata vs. Michael Elgin

B Block: Tomoaki Honma vs. Karl Anderson

B Block: Satoshi Kojima vs. Hirooki Goto

B Block: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Yujiro Takahashi

B Block: Kazuchika Okada vs. Tomohiro Ishii

Saturday, August 8
Kanagawa 6:30pm (5:30am ET)

A Block: Kota Ibushi vs. Bad Luck Fale

A Block: Tetsuya Naito vs. Toru Yano

A Block: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. A.J. Styles

A Block: Togi Makabe vs. Doc Gallows

A Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata

Sunday, August 9
Tokyo (Korakuen Hall) 6:30pm (5:30am ET)

B Block: Michael Elgin vs. Karl Anderson

B Block: Satoshi Kojima vs. Yuji Nagata

B Block: Kazuchika Okada vs. Yujiro Takahashi

B Block: Tomoaki Honma vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

B Block: Hirooki Goto vs. Tomohiro Ishii

Tuesday, August 11
Tokyo (Korakuen Hall) 6:30pm (5:30am ET)

A Block: Testuya Naito vs. Doc Gallows

A Block: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Katsuyori Shibata

A Block: Kota Ibushi vs. Toru Yano

A Block: A.J. Styles vs. Bad Luck Fale

A Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Togi Makabe

Wednesday, August 12
Tokyo (Korakuen Hall) 6:30pm (5:30am ET)

B Block: Karl Anderson vs. Yujiro Takahasi

B Block: Hirooki Goto vs. Michael Elgin

B Block: Satoshi Kojima vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

B Block: Yuji Nagata vs. Kazuchika Okada

B Block: Tomoaki Honma vs. Tomohiro Ishii

Friday, August 14
Tokyo (Sumo Hall) 6:30pm (5:30am ET)

A Block: Toru Yano vs. Bad Luck Fale

A Block: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Doc Gallows

A Block: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Testuya Naito

A Block: Togi Makabe vs. Kota Ibushi

A Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. A.J. Styles

Saturday, August 15
Tokyo (Sumo Hall) 6:30pm (5:30am ET)

B Block: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Michael Elgin

B Block: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kazuchika Okada

B Block: Tomoaki Honma vs. Yujiro Takahashi

B Block: Yuji Nagata vs. Hirooki Goto

B Block: Satoshi Kojima vs. Karl Anderson

Sunday, August 16 – G1 Climax Finals
Tokyo (Sumo Hall) 3pm (2am ET)

1st Place A Block vs. 1st Place B Block

Predictions

The G1 Climax is always so unpredictable and this year will be no different. My predictions will most likely be wrong and I’m ok with that. Here are my predictions for the Finalist and the winner:

A Block – A.J. Styles

B Block – Shinsuke Nakamura

The G1 Climax 25 winner will be…

The Phenomenal A.J. Styles

My reasoning for my predictions are very logical. My pick of A.J. Styles is based on history and popularity, no foreigner has ever won the G1. Only two foreigners have ever been finalist Rick Rude (1992) and Karl Anderson (2012). Shinsuke Nakamura making it to the Finals is based on Nakamura who in my opinion is the best wrestler in the World and being popular Worldwide. He is currently without a Title and making a run in the G1 would be logical. While I’m typing these predictions I can see Shinsuke Nakamura win the G1 and make it to Wrestle Kingdom to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. I could see A.J. Styles win The IWGP Heavyweight Title before Wrestle Kingdom to be Nakamura’s opponent.

Now, I’m going to make some other predictions that could happen. Bullet Club has 5 members in the G1, could we see a member be expelled from Bullet Club. I can only see two members who would be candidates, Bad Luck Fale and Yujiro Takahashi. Bad Luck Fale is a Bullet Club Original and he is only true link to its former leader, Prince Devitt. Yujiro Takahashi is the resident ladies‘man, who happens to have the beautiful Yellow Barbie escort him to the ring at the bigger shows, is in B Block along with Karl Anderson. I could see Takahashi give Anderson too much of a fight against orders from the leader who happens to be Anderson.

I hope a lot of you watch the G1 Climax, it will air on NJPW World which is only 999yen (about $8.06 at the current exchange rate) per month. I hope to have enough time during the G1 to post a review each day but, that might not be possible.

YeaaOh!!